In the northeast of Wuling and southwest of Jingling, there is a fertile grassland with a circumference of more than ten miles between the two tributaries of the Yangtze River, 'Zhangshui' and 'Fushui'.

The climate is mild all year round, the rain is abundant, the soil is fertile, and the grass grows abundantly and vigorously, and it is a natural pasture where the 'Pegasus Ranch' is located.

'Pegasus Ranch' is surrounded by mountains, and only two gorges in the east and west can be accessed, and the dangerous terrain and hidden terrain form a natural screen for the ranch.

In the northwest corner of the pasture, there is a high cliff, on top of which is a magnificent castle, behind which is a steep cliff, and in front of the castle is a meandering river, which is spectacular from afar.

Liu Zongdao and his party rushed to the canyon crossing in the northwest direction, and saw that the pasture was still the same, and couldn't help but relax. Crossing the suspension bridge of the castle tower at the crossing, Yanagi and his party galloped along the avenue in the pasture in the direction of the castle.

Not long after Liu Zongdao and his party left, more than a dozen fast horses outside the canyon rushed in the direction of 'Pegasus Ranch'.

When the knights were thirty feet away from the crossing, an arrow suddenly fell from the sky and shot into the earth in front of them.

This group of people seemed to be accustomed to this, but they just stopped their horses, and then one of the knights stepped forward and said, "Princess Xiuning of the Tang Dynasty has come to visit the owner of the 'Pegasus Ranch' Shang Xiuxun, please report on your behalf!" ”

"Do you have a certificate?"

There was an inquiry from the castle tower.

The knight looked back at Li Xiuning behind him and asked, "Your Royal Highness Princess, ......what do you see?"

At this time, a person beside Li Xiuning smiled and said: "Xiuning, I didn't expect the 'Pegasus Ranch' to become a frightened bird!" ”

Li Xiuning said with a smile: "Now that Liang and Chu are at war, Pegasus Ranch is in the middle of the gap between the two countries, and the slightest carelessness will lead to annihilation, so it is normal to be cautious!"

After that, he took a brocade bag that he carried with him and handed it over, saying, "Based on Xiuning's private seal, Sister Xiuxun recognizes this thing!" ”

The knight respectfully took it, and rode towards the tower at the mouth of the canyon.

The man beside Li Xiuning said: "Xiuning, you said that if it is at the cost of getting the protection of Datang, can you pocket the 'Pegasus Ranch'?" ”

At this time, a person behind Li Xiuning laughed and said: "General Chai's proposal is at the right time, originally Pegasus Ranch was friendly with many parties, left and right, and was still able to win a place in this troubled world, but now the war has started, and it is difficult to protect itself with the strength of 'Pegasus Ranch' itself. ”

The 'General Chai' in that person's mouth was Li Xiuning's fiancé Chai Shao, and when he heard this, Chai Shao asked with a smile: "Lord Li, do you have a clever plan?" ”

This person is Li Gang, a strategist under Li Xiuning, who wants to come to be known for his wisdom, and when he saw Chai Shao asking, he smiled and said: "General Chai already has a plan in his heart, why do you need to ask the old man?" ”

Chai Shao laughed and said, "It seems that Chai Mou and Master Li have seen the same thing!" ”

The two looked at each other and smiled, but Dou Wei on the side said: "Don't be happy too early, you must know that the closest to this 'Pegasus Ranch' is Du Fuwei's Jianghuai Army, the land of Guanzhong is far away, and the whip is beyond reach, if the 'Pegasus Ranch' takes refuge in my Datang, it will inevitably become a thorn in the side of the Jianghuai Army, unless you have a way to move the 'Pegasus Ranch' to Guanzhong entirely!" ”

Chai Shao was about to speak when he heard this, but was interrupted by Li Xiuning and said: "Okay, don't talk nonsense anymore, if you let Sister Xiuxun hear it, I'm afraid there will be a misunderstanding, this time we are just here to buy horses, not to talk about anything else!" ”

"Yes, Xiuning!"

"Yes, Your Highness Princess!"

Everyone agreed, and then avoided the topic of Pegasus Ranch and talked about the war between Liang and Chu.

As he spoke, the suspension bridge under the city of the opposite canyon crossing was slowly lowered, and then the city gate was opened, and a team of knights rode their horses and galloped, and the first one was a woman in green clothes, who was Shang Xiuxun, the owner of the 'Pegasus Ranch'.

"Princess Xiuning is here, Xiuxun has missed the distance, forgive your sins!"

The cavalry rushed to the front, Shang Xiuxun flew off the horse, smiled and hugged his fists and said.

Li Xiuning stepped forward to hold Shang Xiuxun's hand and said with a smile: "Why is Sister Xiuxun so polite to Xiuning? It must be known that Xiuning rushed to see her sister all the way, and she couldn't even take a sip of water! ”

Shang Xiuxun withdrew his hand without a trace, and said with a smile: "Xiuxun has prepared tea, why don't you come to the castle with me soon?" ”

Li Xiuning's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she said, "But the tea that Sister Xiuxun fried by herself?" Since the last time she tasted it, Xiuning felt that other teas were bland and difficult to swallow, and she had been obsessed with her sister's tea for a long time! ”

Everyone laughed and talked as they walked in the direction of the canyon tower.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves in the distance, the sound became louder and louder from far to near, Shang Xiuxun, Li Xiuning and others looked back, only to see not far away, a burst of dust and sand flying, and then, dozens of fast horses rushed over.

"Is it the owner of Shang Xiuxun's shopping mall in front? Da Chu Lin Shihong came to visit! ”

Suddenly, a high-pitched and loud voice came, and by the time the words fell, the dozens of horsemen had approached Shang Xiuxun and the others thirty feet in front of them.

Shang Xiuxun and the others changed color slightly when they heard this, if they hadn't seen that Lin Shihong was only followed by dozens of people, they would have thought that the Great Chu Army had come over.

"Owner, quickly retreat into the canyon!"

Shang Zhen, the chief steward behind Shang Xiuxun, hurriedly said.

Shang Xiuxun shook his head and said: "'Pegasus Ranch' is open to do business, and those who come are guests, and they can't hide for a while, so the business manager will follow me to greet guests!" As he spoke, he instructed Liu Zongdao to welcome Li Xiuning and the others into the 'Pegasus Castle', but because of their identity, Li Xiuning and the others did not stay long.

There were about thirty horsemen who followed Lin Shihong, each of whom was a battle-hardened master in the army, especially the two middle-aged men behind Lin Shihong, whose eyes were open and closed, and their essence was flashing, obviously a first-class master who had reached the realm of internal cultivation.

Shang Xiuxun couldn't help but glance at the two of them, but saw that one of them was staring at him, and the undisguised naked possessiveness in his eyes made Shang Xiuxun uncomfortable.

"You guys came from afar, Xiuxun was not well entertained, please come in!"

Shang Xiuxun subconsciously took a few steps back and put Lin Shihong and his party inside, but placed it in the northwest corner of Pegasus Ranch, which is where the ranch's defense is the strongest.

"The owner, if you are old and have never been blind, the two people behind Lin Shihong should be the two masters of the 'Demon Gate', 'Cloud and Rain Double Cultivation', and the 'Demon Yin' side is not worth it!" When Lin Shihong and his party left, Shang Zhen, the chief steward of the ranch, said to Shang Xiuxun with a solemn face.